TIL: Hispanics are a Plurality in Texas

Few observers of the state’s demographics were shocked when, in 2022, Census Bureau estimates revealed that Hispanics had become a narrow plurality in Texas. At 40.2 percent of the state’s population, they just edged out the non-Hispanic white population of 39.4 percent. The state will never be the same!

Source: Texas Monthly.

That's what I learned in a Texas Monthly article by Richard Z. Santos. He adds the million dollar question: "Texas Is Now a Majority-Minority State. Why Haven’t Our Politics Changed?" He never satisfactorily answers that question. After the jump, the litany of reasons that each contribute to an answer.

The Watcher (TV 2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Watcher (TV 2022) Not a horror movie, or ghost story, or stalker movie. It's a mystery, with lots of creepy neighbors, each suspected and maybe cleared, all the way to a not-so-pat ending. Great cast, all getting into their over-the-top characters. For fun, not scares. A-

Great Expectations (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Great Expectations (TV 2023): Another adaptation of Dickens's classic. Purists object to its added scenes of sex, opium, and violence, but Dickens was constrained by Victorian social mores. This modern tale is still loaded with compelling characters and plot twists. And yet another ending. B+

POTD: Temple of Poseidon

From 2022 11 03 Athens

"Shadows grow longer,
Temple guards the ancient shores,
Late afternoon's hush."

—h/t ChatGPT

This photo-of-the-day was taken on Cape Sounion about 25 miles south of Athens, Greece. It shows the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon (circa 700 BCE).

A bonus close-up photo is after the jump.

POTD: Cape Sounion Fish Farm...and More

From 2022 11 03 Athens

"Patroklos island,
Ship of sorrow under waves,
War's dark tragedy."
—h/t ChatGPT

This photo-of-the-day was taken on Cape Sounion about 25 miles south of Athens, Greece. It shows a fish farm. That's mildly interesting I suppose, but it's not really why I snapped this photo. Besides fish, also below the waves here lies the SS Oria. In the background of the photo is Patroklos island. It has a long history, going back to the Chremonidean War. If you never heard of that war, forgive yourself. I hadn't either. The war was fought from 267-261 BCE. But it's not for that ancient war that I snapped this photo, either. It was for a tragedy that happened during a much more recent war, World War II. According to Wikipedia, "On 12 February 1944, SS Oria sank in a storm on the south east rocks of Patroklos island with 4,074 killed, mostly Italian military internees." It was the greatest loss of life in a single maritime disaster in the Mediterranean's history. Travel is enlightening...for some. For others, it's deadly.